Safety is an issue when performing maintenance on electrical switchgear in an energized electrical switch cabinets, which can operate at high voltages, for example, 50 kilovolts (KV). Maintenance on the switchgear may involve removing and/or installing a new cable, terminator, breaker, or fuse in the electrical switch cabinet.
There are different types of high voltage switchgear in use, for example, switchgear manufactured by McGraw Edison Company, U.S.A., and switchgear manufactured by S&C Electric Company, U.S.A. Also, there are different sizes of cabinets in use, some wider than others.
Typically, the only real safe way to perform this maintenance work is to have the switch cabinet de-energized, or switched off. Unfortunately, this de-energization is burdensome and undesirably causes additional expense to the power company and the electrical contractors that typically perform the work, as well as inconveniences the power company's customers with power outages.